Intravenous medical fluid delivery involves hooking up external fluids and tubing to a device installed on the patient. Sometimes the device is semi-permanently attached to the patient, as in the case of dialysis. The connection to of the attached device to the external tubing/fluids is typically a Luer Lock/Fitting.
A current method for cleaning such a device is for a nurse to apply an alcohol soaked cotton ball to all accessible surfaces. This method is sometimes ineffective, as many patients become sick immediately after the process due to biological contaminants introduced.
It is known to use microwave devices to sterilize plastic tubing, luer locks, or other small medical devices designed for use in providing intravenous fluids to a patient. Known devices are either table-mounted or require placing the entire plastic unit inside the device. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,112 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,303.
Devices for heating up liquid trapped in a small section of intravenous tubing, including in a luer lock, have been previously proposed, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,514. But the system was a large bench mounted unit.
It is also known to use handheld devices for microwave curing of polymer materials in dentistry applications, an example of which is found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,775.